Opportunity missed but pride remains - Paine

Hobart Hurricanes and Australian wicketkeeper Tim Paine says the team let an opportunity slip yesterday after losing to the Adelaide Strikers in the BBL|07 Final.

Speaking to the media today, Paine said he and the group would like their time over again after having to chase over 200 at the Adelaide Oval.

“Disappointed no doubt. I’d love to go back and play it again to be honest,” he said.

“Our first 20 overs didn’t go to plan and chasing over 200 you need a lot to go your way.

“It’s a huge opportunity that we’ve let slip, so everyone’s definitely hurting this morning and really disappointed given how well we played the game before and how consistent we’ve been over the tournament.”

Paine was full of praise for the Hurricanes’ opponents, with the Strikers winning on the back of a huge knock of 115 from Jake Weatherald.

“Full credit to the Strikers and Jake Weatherald – he came out and played a gem of an innings and probably threw our bowlers off their plans,” he said.

“They bowled really well too, so to get to almost 180 was a pretty decent effort. I think our batting stats throughout the tournament have stacked up really well.”

Paine also defended the move to bat Matthew Wade down the order in the Final, despite the left-hander making a Player Of The Match 71 against the Perth Scorchers in the Semi-Final.

“I think we’ve stuck with the left-right combination for most of the tournament, and because D’Arcy batted through most of the innings last night, that’s how it goes sometimes in T20,” he said.

“You do things differently all the time when you have hindsight - but in a T20 game it all happens quickly and I think Gary and George had that plan throughout the tournament and it’s worked really well.”

Despite the loss however, Paine said the efforts of the squad to get to the finals after being one of the less-fancied teams prior to the start of the tournament, was an achievement to be proud of.

“There’s a little bit of pride – you have to be in finals to win them so it’s a step in the right direction, there’s no doubt,” he said.

“But Gary was really clear after the Perth game and before yesterday’s game that we certainly weren’t happy to just make the final – we were there to win it.

“We thought we had a good enough team to win it, which makes it even more disappointing.”